

The Motivated Classroom
Dr. Liam Printer
A podcast for language teachers and learners hosted by Dr. Liam Printer talking all things education, languages, motivation and engagement; linking current educational research to your classroom practice and providing a few ideas for some easy to implement, zero-prep, motivational strategies you can try out right away!
Join the conversation on social media using #MotivatedClassroom. I'd love to know what you think so please get in touch.
Full programme notes available on
www.liamprinter.com/podcast
Join the conversation on social media using #MotivatedClassroom. I'd love to know what you think so please get in touch.
Full programme notes available on
www.liamprinter.com/podcast
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 25, 2021 • 33min
46 ¦ The motivational impact of decolonising our languages curriculum with Maud Waret
The fantastic Maud Waret shares her personal learning and classrooms experiences as a mixed race French woman growing up in France and then moving to the UK as well as many wonderful practical ideas to help language teachers to begin to decolonise some of their curriculum. Maud speaks passionately, powerfully and practically. This is a real must listen episode for all language teachers seeking to have a more inclusive, representative and diverse classroom experience for their students.
Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Twitter @motclasspodcast.
Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review.

Jun 18, 2021 • 37min
45 ¦ Motivating multilinguals through inclusion, diversity & pride with Tan Huynh
In this episode, the inspirational Tan Huynh speaks about the use of Larry Ferlazzo's framework for empowering multilingual students as well as how we can all be more representative and inclusive in our choices of materials and the stories we share. Tan provides brilliant practical tips on how we can ensure our classroom is a welcoming, diverse space for all learners. This is a must listen episode for all language teachers striving to have a more inclusive learning environment where everyone feels welcome to be themselves and explore their own unique identity.
Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Twitter @motclasspodcast.
Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review.

Jun 11, 2021 • 24min
44 ¦ From retrieval to review: Structuring a motivated language lesson
This episode is a follow up to Ep. 43 on 'Structuring a language curriculum without a textbook' and focuses on the individual language acquisition lesson and how I structure it to keep motivation at the forefront of each class. At the end of the episode I also speak about what this structure looks like in my lesson planning. I hope you find this practical episode useful!
Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Twitter @motclasspodcast.
Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review.

Jun 4, 2021 • 28min
43 ¦ From August to June: Structuring a language curriculum without a textbook
Thank you to The #MotivatedClassroom patron, Margit Alexy, for prompting me to do an episode on how I structure a year of language acquisition curriculum without a textbook. In this episode I go into some detail about what my Spanish Level 1 sequence of learning looks like over a whole year, before giving a brief overview of what this translates into for older, more advanced, students a few years later in their language learning journey.
For full details a list of these strategies, check out the programme notes with further information and links to research and resources at www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Are you a regular listener and enjoying The Motivated Classroom podcast? Join me on my patreon page here.
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom
Keep sharing and spreading the word. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review 🙏

May 28, 2021 • 27min
42 ¦ The power of positive emotions in the language classroom
Anxiety, stress, nervousness and a high 'affective filter' is often discussed around language learning, but what happens when you focus on positive emotions? It's time we talked about the research behind positive emotions in the language classroom rather than focusing on the negative ones. In this episode I provide an overview of the key research in this area and how we can apply it to our classes to make the experience more welcoming, fun and interesting for our students.
For full details a list of these strategies, check out the programme notes with further information and links to research and resources at www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Are you a regular listener and enjoying The Motivated Classroom podcast? Join me on my patreon page here.
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom
Keep sharing and spreading the word. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review 🙏

May 21, 2021 • 34min
41 ¦ What every teacher needs to know about memory and motivation with Steve Smith
In this episode I am joined by the fascinating, knowledgeable and highly inspirational, Steve Smith, to talk about memory and motivation in the language classroom. Steve is a former Head of Modern Languages in England. He has taught French for over 30 years and is the author of the resources website frenchteacher.net. He has also co-authored five books for language teachers with with Dr. Gianfranco Conti with the latest being What Every language Teacher Should Know. This episode is an absolute must-listen for all language teachers!
For full details a list of these strategies, check out the programme notes with further information and links to research and resources at www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Are you a regular listener and enjoying The Motivated Classroom podcast? Join me on my patreon page here.
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom
Keep sharing and spreading the word. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review 🙏

May 14, 2021 • 28min
40 ¦ Active learning strategies: 12 zero-prep activities for the classroom
Sitting all day is exhausting! This episode is full of practical ideas for active learning in the language classroom. Getting students up and out of their seats is a mainstay in every class I teach. Even just for a few minutes, it helps to re-engage the students in what is happening, it freshens things up and helps them to re-focus. It also helps to mix things up and keep that important aspect of 'unpredictability' in each class. I've mentioned some of these activities before, but with so many listeners asking about activities that aid acquisition but also get students up and active, here are all my favourites in one episode:
Bingo
Touch the board
The elimination game
Sentence sharing and co-teaching
Get up and talk to a different table
Volleyball reading
Find someone who
Pass it up
Pop
Yes and no wall
The rhythm circle
Brain breaks:
Line up by..
Stay standing if…
TPR
For full details a list of these strategies, check out the programme notes with further information and links to research and resources at www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Are you a regular listener and enjoying The Motivated Classroom podcast? Join me on my patreon page here.
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom
Keep sharing and spreading the word. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review 🙏

May 7, 2021 • 27min
39 ¦ Q & A: Reluctant colleagues, what to prioritise and how to build confidence
In this question and answer episode there are some wonderful questions from listeners on how to prioritise our class time, coping with colleagues who are reluctant to new initiatives, how to create interesting stories and supporting students' low confidence/self-esteem.
For full details a list of these strategies, check out the programme notes with further information and links to research and resources at www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Are you a regular listener and enjoying The Motivated Classroom podcast? Join me on my patreon page here.
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom
Keep sharing and spreading the word. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review 🙏

Apr 30, 2021 • 28min
38 ¦ Motivational strategies for teaching grammar
Learn about motivational strategies for teaching grammar in this episode. Explore the impact of explicit grammar teaching on motivation and discover zero-prep strategies to make grammar instruction more engaging. Discover effective strategies for teaching the present perfect and future tense, as well as interactive activities like using a TV show and creating creative fortune telling. Prioritize fluency and confidence over accuracy in language learning to avoid demotivation.

Apr 23, 2021 • 26min
37 ¦ Demotivation: What is it and how do we stop it?
Educational research consistently finds that motivation is the key factor in young people achieving their potential and succeeding at school. Demotivation, on the other hand, can be defined as “someone who was once motivated but has lost his/her commitment for some reason” (Dörnyei and Ushioda 2011). Even if we are struggling to understand how to motivate our learners, the very least we must ensure is that we are not actively engaged in activities that research has proven to be demotivating. This episode explores the research on these demotivating activities in the language classroom and what we can do to stop them.
For full details a list of these strategies, check out the programme notes with further information and links to research and resources at www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Are you a regular listener and enjoying The Motivated Classroom podcast? Join me on my patreon page here.
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom
Keep sharing and spreading the word. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review 🙏


